This woman lost 285 pounds in 18 months by doing these 2 things

Losing weight is hard work and often requires a dramatic lifestyle change, but one woman on Instagram proved that with the right mind set, it can be done.

Lexi Reed, who goes by the username @fatgirlfedup, posted a before-and-after photo of herself showing her incredible weight loss transformation. Over the last 18 months, Reed has lost 285 pounds, which she credits to both diet and exercise.

In the post, she wrote, “Throwback to the girl who pushed herself to do 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical five times a week and to be the hardest worker in the room. Throwback to the girl who decided she was fedup, started changing her lifestyle & learning to cook/count calories and fought obesity.”

In 2016, Reed, along with her husband, set a New Year’s Resolution for themselves to lose weight. So far they’ve lost a combined 362 pounds without surgery, pills, meal plans or trainers. In a previous post, she reveals how she wanted to get healthier so they could live a more fulfilling life together.

“When Danny & I met at 16 years old (10 years ago), I weighed over 300lbs. He never knew me as any less & never asked me to change. I however wanted to live a longer life with him, be healthy, and be able to have kids in the future,” Reed wrote.

The couple swapped take-out food and Netflix binges for healthier meal alternatives and trips to the gym together. Their weight loss also allowed them to partake in activities that weren’t possible before, like hiking, biking, riding roller coasters and traveling on airplanes.

“We have dedicated this summer as our bucketlist summer to do all the things we couldn’t do as prisoners in our own body,” she wrote.